Hidden Depths
by LuckyBlackCat
Summary: The Doctor and Rose go to the seaside in rainy old England. Hardly the best weather for a summer holiday. But Rose thinks she spots something in the sea and that's only the beginning... Takes place sometime in series 2.
1. Something in the Sea

**A/N Here is my new Doctor Who story starring the Doctor and Rose! It's an idea I got while on holiday in Weymouth, Dorset. The sea inspires me for some weird reason. I don't know if this will be one of my better fics. I really hope so! I watched loads of old episodes to get Rose right...so fingers crossed you'll like it! Reviews would be amazing. **

**Disclaimer: Doctor Who is not mine. You know it, I know it. **

"We go to the beach and it rains. That is just so typical."

"This is England, Rose. It wouldn't be England if it didn't rain. You should be glad we're not on Caputo 37. Rains ALL the time on that planet. They've got these really neat umbrellas though. They don't have handles, they just hover over you. Isn't that amazing?"

"I'm cold and wet and could really do with one of them. Got one on you? "

The Doctor began to rummage in his pockets

"Er...I've got sonic screwdriver, psychic paper, a half eaten chocolate and banana sandwich, a copy of _Twilight_ from the year 3034, a clockwork mouse and _Mr Bean's Holiday_ on DVD. But no umbrella from Caputo 37. Sorry. Oh, and what's this? A plastic model of Pikachu. "

"What's _Twilight_?"

"It's one of the bestselling books from your century. Due out in three years time. "

"What's it about?"

"Vampires."

"Urgh, disgusting, ugly things. All fangs and coffins, right? I'd take aliens any day!"

"Um, actually _Twilight_ is about...never mind. Wouldn't want to spoil it for you!"the Doctor beamed. A bit of rain wasn't going to spoil his happy mood.

The rain was coming down steadily, and though the two were trying to shelter under a row of lonely holiday homes, the wind blew the rain straight into their faces.

"Where _is_ everything?" moaned Rose. "It's the seaside! There should be fun fairs and fish n chip shops and amusement arcades and..."

"A little shop? I like little shops."

"Yeah, a little shop that sells ice cream and sweets! Not just sea, sand, rain and a force 10 gale!"

"Actually, judging by the sea, it's only about force 6. Or force 7. Maybe."

"We're in the middle of no-where! And the TARDIS is way back there somewhere!"

Rose gestured behind her in frustration. They had been enjoying a nice walk along the seafront, when someone in the sky had decided they'd been having too much fun. The rain poured down suddenly, harsh and freezing. Now they were stuck out in it.

"I think the towns up here. Somewhere. Let's keep moving," the Doctor suggested.

"I've got a better idea," Rose grinned.

She grabbed the Doctor's hand, and before he knew what was happening, they were dashing through the rain, tripping through puddles and splashing each other. The sea crashed against the wall beside the path they were on, occasionally slopping onto the pavement. Rose squealed as a wave of water almost hit her. She stopped suddenly. The Doctor kept going and tripped over. Rose barely noticed. She was peering over the grey wall into the water.

"Was something moving just now? In the sea?" Rose stared at the angry waves pounding against the stone wall, almost like they were trying to reach for her and the Doctor and pull them in. A wild spray of foam hit her face.

"No. I didn't see anything. What did it look like?"

"There's an "it"?

"You said you saw something!" the Doctor was now scanning the vast expanse of water, searching for Rose's "it".

"Yeah, I just...never mind. It was probably nothing."

"Sure?"

"Come on, let's get to that fish n chip place, yeah?"

She pointed to a building that had appeared ahead of them. It was hard to make out in the rain, but it looked as though "CHIPS" was painted on it in big red letters.

"O.K. Chips are good. Shelter is better," the Doctor agreed, but a red flag had been raised inside his mind. _Something in the sea, something in the sea _it nagged him.

**A/N Oh, and the Doctor having weird things in his pockets was someone else's idea. I can't quite remember whose- think it might have been WeepingAngel123's. So I hope it's O.K to borrow it. **


	2. Welcome to the Weirdness

**A/N Thanks for the reviews, HermitsUnited and Xbakiyalo! I know the first chapter was short, so I updated quickly! **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Doctor Who. **

"Cod and chips twice please," Rose smiled nervously at the guy serving fish and chips. He looked bored.

"That'll be £8.25, please."

"What? That's a rip off! You can buy fish and chips for 20 credits on Saphir! You humans can be so cheeky! I don't know why I like you lot so much sometimes when you charge that much!" the Doctor interrupted, outraged.

"Huh," the fish and chip guy seemed unmoved.

"Don't mind my friend. He's a bit eccentric. Hasn't taken his medication yet," she smiled sweetly.

"I'm not on medi-AAAAARGHHHH!"

Rose stomped on his foot and tried to send "please shut up" vibes. Rose paid up and they received their fish and chips.

"Sitting in here eating overpriced chips is better than standing out there in the pouring rain!" she hissed at the Doctor.

"But it hurt!"

The Doctor pouted and Rose couldn't help but laugh. They were the only ones in the cafe apart from the guy serving, and he seemed to be off in his own little world.

"What?"

"You...you're just...you're just _you_."

"Thanks for clearing that up, Rose Tyler. "

"How long do you think this rain is going to go on for?"

"Don't know. Could make a dash for the TARDIS when it eases off. But about what you saw in the water...what did it look like?"

"I don't know...I didn't really _see _anything. Just thought I saw something _move_."

Rose realised what little sense her sentence actually made, but the Doctor didn't seem confused.

"Why? Do you think there really is something in there?"

"It just keeps going round and round in my head. Like my instincts are telling me something's there."

"Are your instincts normally right?"

"Oh, yes,"

"So, say there is something. What do we do?"

Suddenly the room began to shake in and out of focus. Rose blinked. The Doctor's hand shot out and grabbed onto her wrist. The room blurred around them and began to spin. Then it dissolved into nothing and they were outside again, with the rain lashing down on them.

The ground where the cafe had stood was now empty. There was no sign it had ever been there in the first place.

"Alright. So what kind of town has a disappearing fish and chip shop?" Rose asked incredulously.

"But that shouldn't have happened. How did it happen?" the Doctor protested.


	3. The Invisible Enemy

**A/N A ramble-y chapter I suppose...but aren't they all xD Thank you for the reviews, they are tasty. Please give me more...you wouldn't want me to starve to death now, would you? _Would_ you? **

"That was no simple illusion. That was beyond simple. Simple is when you just _see_! We _felt _the table and chairs, we _tasted_ those chips! That was _incredible _advanced illusionary work, must be from a level 7 planet at least..."

Rose nodded, trying to understand.

"So there's definitely something going on."

"They couldn't have made it more obvious. They might as well have put up signs saying 'SOMETHING GOING ON HERE DOCTOR, COME AND INVESTIGATE. TRY THE CHIPS!'"

"So why don't "they" come out and face us instead of hiding behind illusions? I mean, they don't _need_ to hide. Do they?"

"That illusion of the cafe wasn't supposed to just shut down like that," the Doctor frowned, thinking aloud. "It was supposed to fool us into thinking everything was normal and then off we'd go back in the TARDIS. Easy peasy, no trouble. But something must have gone wrong. "

"But we can't really _do_ anything in all this rain and mist..."

The rain had eased off to a light drizzle, the kind you barely feel if you're _already_ soaking wet. Nevertheless, it didn't make things any easier. Plus, a mist had formed, so thick it made the best horror sets look _really_ bad.

"Mist! _Mist_!" the Doctor slapped himself on the forehead. "Of course!"

"What? Is it a mist monster? _Really_?"

"Kind of. Most races don't have a proper name for it. My people called them the Vanishing..." there was a pause as the Doctor took a moment to mourn the loss of his people, his eyes somewhere else. "They're like spiders. They wait for their prey to be caught in their web of illusion and then they...then they...well, eat."

"Wait a minute. We're food?" Rose asked.

"Possibly. Maybe. Well, yeah, I suppose. "

"Shouldn't we _run_ or something? I don't really fancy being eaten by an invisible spider!"

"They don't look like spiders. They look like...well, nobody knows! They stay hidden in the mist. And running won't help, except if you want to make it more fun for them. We can't fight off something we can't see!"

The Doctor paused, deep in thought. Plans and strategies began to run through his mind. Which would work best? Then he turned and ran back the way they had come. Rose followed. She wanted to ask what he was thinking, but she had to concentrate on her footing. The damp made everything slippery. The mist seemed to be closing in on them from almost every direction. A little thrill of fear flamed up inside her. And she felt alive, in a way she never had done back home on the Powell Estate.

She would follow the Doctor anywhere. She knew in her heart that one day she would probably follow him to her death. But she pushed the thought away and concentrated on the Mist Monster, as she fondly christened it.

The Doctor had dashed down to the beach. He scrambled over the stone wall, stumbling onto the sand. The tide had receded, exposing a gleaming, wet strip of it. Rose pulled herself over the wall and joined him.

"Now wha-?" but her words were cut off as something indescribable snatched her from the air. Rose felt herself becoming very, very sleepy. And then...nothing.

**A/N Whoa! Cliff hanger! Just something I've noticed they do in the show-split up the Doctor and Rose. If it works for the BBC, why shouldn't I try it? This isn't turning out too bad, for something I'm making up as I go along. Oh well, more fun that way. Please review! Love it? Hate it? Want to bash me round the head with a frying pan for what I've done? Got some constructive critiscism? Let me know!**


	4. Splenderifous

**A/N So here's the next chapter. A bit...strange, I have to say. Even for me. But I had fun making up my eccentric maybe-evil-but-maybe-not character. I send much love and great thanks to my reviewers, especially Xbakiyalo, WeepingAngel123 and HermitsUnited. But that does not mean I have forgotten my anonymous reviewers! This chapter tells all, Becky! O.K, maybe not all, but some.** **And if Lena is still reading, thank you as well.**

"COMMENCING SCAN."

"HUMAN, FEMALE, 26 FEDAS OLD. ORIGIN: SOL 3."

"Ah, good! Very good! Splenderifous! And her friend?"

"SPECIES: UNKNOWN, MALE, AGE:UNKNOWN, ORIGIN:UNKNOWN."

"Poor. Very poor. Disgracyful. Find out!"

"NOT RELEVANT. HE WILL PERISH BECAUSE OF THE HIDDEN ONES. AND THEN _WE_ WILL PERISH _THEM_!"

"Splenderifous. Fantasticulo. You are too good to me, Computer."

"I AM ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND YOU ARE MY MASTER. I OBEY."

"Quite, quite. Now, what shall we do with her?"

* * *

"Rose? ROSE! Great. Just great. Looks like this is a job for my sonic screwdriver. Trace that transmat, teleport beamy thing. Another technical term for my Doctor dictionary. Wait a minute, who am I talking to? Not myself, because that would be insane. I am talking to...you, my sonic screwdriver. I think losing Rose again has made me slightly delirous. Oh well, happens all the time...nothing to worry about...and...oh. "

The Doctor stared out. He was surrounded by streams of white. The Vanishing.

"But you don't have transmat technology. You don't need it. You just go where life takes you. Just drift about. Hunt wherever you happen to smack into. You weren't the ones who took Rose. So who did? And why did they take her?"

* * *

"Ooh, my head."

Rose found herself in a huge room...a control room...with panels of buttons and big screen built into the wall. Computer flashed its screen at her in way of greeting.

"Ah, you are awake. Splenderifous!"

He looked nearly normal. Humanoid, mid twenties. Dark hair...but his eyes were _orange_. And Rose guessed it wasn't due to contact lenses.

"Who are you and splender-what?"

"Splenderifous. It's my word. And I am no-one. Who are you?"

"What do you mean you're no-one? And if you've...decided to _kidnap _me...didn't you think it was a good idea to find out who I was first?"

"What is this "kidnap"? A human term? You have so many great terms..."

"It means forcibly snatching someone!"

"I see. But you're lucky! Your friend down there is going to be eaten by the Hidden Ones."

"The monsters in the mist? Well then, get him out!"

"Terribly sorry. No can do!"

"DO IT! NOW!"

"This isn't right. I'm the "kidnap"...er and you're the "kidnap" ee! You do what I say!" he seemed genuinely confused by Rose's frantic orders.

"No, I don't! Get him out!"

* * *

"Just one last thing...before you, you know _feast_. Don't attack a man with a sonic screwdriver!"

The Doctor blazed a path through the mist. The things seemed to recoil from the attack.

"That was way too easy," he frowned. But then his face cleared. "Never mind, I'm not complaining. Right, bye, then! I will stop you, by the way. And don't doubt it."

He dashed along the path, away from the sea. The waves were crashing heavily. All the Doctor needed was for the sonic screwdriver to find the co-ordinates Rose had been transmatted to. And then follow in the TARDIS. Which was parked about a mile away. And _then_ find out what the _hell_ was going on.

"Is that all?" he asked the screwdriver. It did not reply.

* * *

"He's probably gone now. Doesn't take them long to polish things off, right Computer?"

"CORRECT."

"Computer, meet the human!"

"_Rose_. My name's Rose. And the Doctor will have escaped. He always escapes. _Who are you_?" she half believed he had escaped, but was half trying to convince herself.

"That's the thing, you see. I don't know. "

"_What?!"_

"I-DON'T- KNOW! I know not. I have no clue. ME NO KNOW!" he screamed, his frustration unleashed in a torrent of the "human terms" he loved so much.

**A/N I said it was weird. Is it too weird, people? Tell me please! Review! **


	5. Lost

**A/N The story actually gets somewhere in this chapter! Yes, I know, amazing! I have it all planned out now, so it should be less random. O.K, still random, but more sane, down to earth random. If that exists. Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate it! **

**Disclaimer: Come on, people! Did you see this in series 2? I don't own it. **

"How can you not know who you are? What do you _mean_?" Rose had found herself in some peculiar situations, but she had to admit being kidnapped by a something that didn't actually know who it was...

This was foreign ground. Just when she thought she'd seen it all, done it all, been through it all, something new happened. She loved it and feared it in equal measures, but the adventures she had were a drug. And she was addicted to it the way her mum was addicted to tea and worrying, and her dad had been addicted to new business schemes, and Mickey was addicted to playing the jealous boyfriend.

"I woke up here in this ship, you see. Computer was here to greetify me, but I couldn't remember her. All I could remember were the monsters in the mist. And the human words. I was scareded of the monsters, but I didn't know how to slay them. But I knew that was my...my _purpose_? It may not be the right word. But I've forgotten _everything_."

He seemed solemn now, all traces of cheer gone from his face. Rose was glad she was finally getting some sense out of him. A stab of pity assailed her heart. But she had to find out...

"Alright then. So why did you kidnap me and leave the Doctor?"

"He was an unknown. I do not trust unknowns! Computer said we could not anyway."

"Why not?"

"ONLY SUFFICCIENT POWER FOR ONE TRANSMAT. ENERGY DRAINED BY ILLUSION BUSTER, " the machine said in its mechanical drone.

"Wait a minute. It was you who made the fish and chip shop disappear?"

"CORRECT"

"Why did you kidnap me in the first place?"

"TIME SHIP DETECTED."

"I thought someone with that technology may be able to help me! Computer told me they don't have time travel that comes from Earth..."

"You kidnapped the wrong person, then. The Doctor might have been able to help you. But I can't! You should think more about who you decide to beam up to your spaceship in the future!"

"NEGATIVE."

"Excuse me?"

"Computer means you weren't beamed up. You were beamed down! This is a ship that rides the fluid mountains of Earth!"

Rose frowned. Why couldn't this guy have just stuck to normal words? She once again had no idea what he was talking about. Down...fluid...mountains? Could he mean...?

"Do you mean the sea? This ship is floating in the sea? I knew I saw _something_!" she exclaimed triumphantly.

"Sea? But to see is a human verb! My brain tells me that is absolutely positivo!"

"It's S-E-A. Noun. More than half the Earth is covered in it," she informed him.

He clapped his hands excitedly. "Save it to the data banks, Computer!" he ordered.

* * *

The Doctor wished he had brought a portable umbrella from Caputo 37. He wished he had a motorbike so he could get back to the TARDIS more quickly. He wished Rose hadn't been transmatted to who knows where.

He wished a lot of things. He had once met a fortune teller who promised to grant him three wishes. He declined. The phrase "Be careful what you wish for" was one of his favourite.

The TARDIS was not best pleased when he eventually got there, soaked to the skin. He looked like someone had tried to drown him and was dripping on the floor. No wonder parts of her ceased to function!

He didn't know if the Vanishing were chasing him, or if they'd found something or someone else. He just knew he had to track Rose. The sonic screwdriver was still finding the co-ordinates.

"Come on, come on! You can do it!" the Doctor paced up and down staring at it. He didn't enjoy waiting and it _really _shouldn't have taken this long.

"YES!" he yelled, then stuck the screwdriver into a port in the TARDIS console. This would require very precise flying, getting the right place and the right time. The TARDIS was good at random, but not so good at definite times and places.

He carefully pulled a lever.

**A/N Reviews much loved please!**


	6. The Oncoming Storm

**A/N I've had this chapter ready for quite a while...I know I haven't updated for about 2 weeks, so I got this all ready to go when suddenly decided it would be a good time to install updates (I assume) and therefore disable the Document Manager. Sorry for the wait, but here it is! And merci beaucoup to all my reviewers. WeepingAngel, I have adopted the name of Mr. Splenderifous for my character! Thanks! He will have a real name in the end. Maybe. **

**Disclaimer: Did you know some people make up little disclaimer rhyme/poem type things? I'm tried to think of one but failed, so...I do not own Doctor Who! **

"UNDER ATTACK! UNDER ATTACK! UNDER ATTACK FROM HUMAN SUBSTANCE KNOWN AS SEA! SHIP DETECTED BY THE MIST FORMS!"

"What? What's that supposed to mean?"

After being kidnapped my "Mr. Splederifous" (as Rose had taken to calling him in her head) and being brought aboard his ship, Rose was not in the best of moods. There were several reasons for this, including the fact that the Doctor had been left as a snack for the mist monsters.

Mr. Splederifous seemed equally perplexed by the warning.

"Oh dear, I hate it when this happens," he sighed. "Sometimes the "sea" goes a bit crazy and starts beating up my ship with its fluid peaks. And it makes more of its fluid fall out of the sky."

Rose had to think for a minute before she got it.

"A storm," she summarised.

"Storm! A storm!" Mr Splederifous tried out the new "human term" with excitement. Rose wondered if he would actually _enjoy_ reading the dictionary. It seemed highly likely.

Suddenly the ship lurched sickeningly.

"DANGER! DANGER! ENGAGE SHIELDING AT 100%!" Computer barked as Rose and Mr. Splederifous were thrown across the room. The ship was whirling, whirling, whirling and Rose couldn't even stand. She was going to have a lot of bruises when this was over.

"Computer! Do the...what's it called? Anti-shake thingamajig!" Mr. Splenderifous barked.

"POWER FAILING!"

"O.K...how about...the weapons! Do we have weapons?"

"WEAPONS INEFFECTIVE!"

"Great!" he beamed, his face glowing with pleasure.

"How is that great?" Rose spluttered.

"I was practicing the human speech technique of "sarcasm"."

"Can't you practice it later? We're gonna get killed here!"

"SPACECRAFT APPROACHING! ACCESS DENIED!"

A crunching sound ripped through the room. It sounded like something was chewing on metal.

"OUTER CASING BREACHED BY MIST FORMS."

"This is not good in many ways. They're eating their way into the ship! Crunching us up like Crunchy Nut Cornflakes! What do we do, Rose?"

"You're the pilot for God's sake!"

Her only reward was a helpless, clueless, hopeless look.

"What about the shields?" she asked, struggling to think her way out. She was clever, she could do it. _Oh my God, this is it! I'm dying! With a guy who thinks "splenderifous" is a word!"_

"POWER FAILING. POWER FAILING."

Another crunch shook the ship. The gushing of the sea water from outside became audible.

"How long?" Rose asked.

"WALLS ARE 20 METRES THICK. 15 MINUTES. 15 MINU..."

And just like that Computer was dead. Silence filled the room. The ship rocked violently.

"No power. No Computer. But there must be something, some other sort of defence system!" Rose shook Mr. Splenderifous by the shoulders desperately.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"It's your ship!"

"Yes, but I cannot remember!"

_Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. _

Rose ransacked everything that resembled a cupboard. Various bits and pieces flew through the air. Mr. Splenderifous picked a metallic object wonderingly. Did this belong to him? Or was it Earthling? He'd spent the last two days reading grammar text books and could remember every single one of the new human terms. Yet he could not even remember his own name. Did he have a family? Friends? What did his home look like? He could only remember Computer and the sea and the human girl called Rose. And the mist forms. Why did he know them so well?

"Aha! This looks more like it!"

Rose had found a big, gun like object.

"Do you think this would work?" she asked.

_Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. _

"Possiblo. Rose, do you have a family?"

"Yeah. My mum. And the Doctor. And Mickey, I suppose."

"I think maybe I did too. But they look all foggity and I can't quite see..."

For the first time, Rose felt a rush of sympathy for the strange fellow. Imagine what it would be like if she couldn't remember the Doctor, her mum or Mickey...her life would be so empty!

_Crunch. Crunch. Crunch._ Water began to trickle in from the ceiling. There was no time for sympathy! Rose found the trigger and held the gun like thing up to the ceiling.

CRUNCH!

The trickle of water became a small stream. Mr. Splenderifous managed to scrounge up some sort of metal pole to use as a weapon.

_Vworp. Vworp. Vworp. _

Was Rose hearing things? Was a light TARDIS breeze wafting through the room? Were her engines calling a greeting? Or was it the mist monsters creating yet another illusion? She decided that, knowing her luck, it was probably the latter and didn't turn around. They were _not _sneaking in while she was distracted. She braced herself as the stream of water grew into a river. A shallow puddle was growing on the floor.

Mr. Splenderifous blinked as a blue box came into focus. Had Rose not noticed? Surely a human's senses could...

The door creaked open.

"Hello!" the Doctor called cheerfully. Rose spun round, holding up her weapon. Her expression was one of astonishment, fear and hope. The Doctor frowned.

"Rose, why are you pointing a hairdryer at me?"

**A/N The only bit I wasn't sure about was where Rose didn't turn round when she heard the TARDIS...maybe she would, but I wanted to make it more dramatic.** **Or something. Review please! **


	7. Computer

**A/N Here's the next chapter. I don't know how quickly updates are going to come after this because I'm back at school and it's my GCSE year...so I've got homework, coursework, a million different things to do...anyway, thank you for all the support and feedback. Hopefully everyone reverts back to being IC in this chapter...except the characters I made up. They can do what they like, because I made them up. Ha ha. **

**Disclaimer: No. And I still haven't come up with a rhyme. **

"This is a hairdryer?" Rose stared at the cylindrical object in wonder.

"Yes. Sorry. Blimey, listen to that racket! Haven't you got your defences up?" this was directed at Mr. Splenderifous, who looked on in wonder.

"No power. You're not dead," he pointed out, bemused.

"Nope. Not last time I checked. Now, I'm going to ignore the fact you kidnapped Rose and left the Vanishing to eat me for the moment, and ask you what your name is."

"He doesn't know. And he thinks "splenderifous" is a word." Rose explained.

"It _is_ a word. It's _my_ word. You're just jealous because you didn't inventory it!" the no name insisted.

"Excuse me, but you can't _own_ words!"

A harsh thumping sound reverberated through the floor. And Rose suddenly remembered the monsters. Mr. Splenderifous jumped. The water sloshed round their feet.

"Power. Power, power, power. This ship's defences would easily keep them out-if they were online," the Doctor paced round the room, thinking aloud.

"Could we use the TARDIS?" Rose asked.

"I think we're going to have to. It's not exactly compatible, but oh well. Is it all done through a main computer?"

"Yessity. Computer. My one and only friend since I woke up here." Mr. Splenderifous answered.

Something stirred in the Doctor's mind. This ship and the Vanishing here at the same time...and the way the illusion was interrupted earlier...couldn't be coincidences. But before his mind could join the dots together, another thump sounded. The water level was rising and the ship was far from stable.

Rose watched as the Doctor barked out orders to Mr. Splenderifous. Find that cable and that power line, join it with this, fuse those together...a long, thick cable ran from the TARDIS to Computer. The Doctor reassured her that the power would be back on in about ten minutes. Well, more like twelve. Or fifteen. Or maybe even twenty. And no, there was nothing she could do to help.

Rose found herself watching the water rise as they worked. It was up to her ankles and rising. The TARDIS looked rather odd submerged in the shallow water. She was frustrated about being left on the sidelines...but she didn't know anything about rewiring a spaceship or whatever they were doing.

Her mind wandered to piecing together the walking riddle that was Mr. Splenderifous.

"Is it safe to be working with cables in all this water?" she asked.

"Don't have a choice," the Doctor told her.

At last, when the water was almost up to the middle of her calf, the room lit up.

"HELLO. I AM COMPUTER." Computer announced. "ALL SHIELDS ACTIVE AND EFFECTIVE. BREACH CLOSING."

"Sorted. Super-duper. Lovely," the Doctor beamed.

"Splenderifous! Jolly good!"

"Now we just need to find out who you are. You've got an illusion busting ship...looks like it came from the other side of the galaxy...maybe System 27? We'll ask Computer, she'll know!"

"She says she doesn't know anything about me! Her systems probably got resetted!"

"No, she must have something in her data banks..."

"Hold on, how come Computer is suddenly a "she"?" Rose cut in.

"It's only polite!" the Doctor told her "It would be rude if I called you an "it"."

"Funny, you don't usually care about being rude," she smiled cheekily.

"Anyway, this ship probably crashed into Earth. So, Mr. No-Name over there probably got a good old bang on the head and lost his memory. But, this type of super computer shouldn't have been affected. So, if I use the sonic screwdriver to tap into her data banks...we should find out what's going on..."

The face of Mr. Splenderifous lit up. If he could only see past the dense fog shrouding his soul them maybe he could find something to hold on to again.

"Do it! Hurry, Mr. Doctor!"

"It's just the Doctor. And you can be thinking of ways to get rid of that lot out there. The Vanishing."

Rose watched as he scanned the massive screen with the sonic screwdriver.

"So, if Computer does know who he is...then what?"

"Big old space computer like this should be able to heal...remember the nanogenes in Jack's ship? She should have similar technology that will restore him to the state he was before the accident. Like resetting him."

Before the Doctor could say another word, a harsh grating scream came from Computer. Her screen flashed an angry red. Rose took a step back.

**A/N Not bad, considering I'm exhausted from writing yet another essay. Review, or get hunted by the Vanishing. And their cousins, the Vashta Nerada. **


	8. Mechanical Hysteria

**A/N It's been a long time, I know. I'm sorry, but I'm being eaten alive by work at school. This is my GCSE year, so the teachers pile it on. If any of you watch the _Sarah Jane Adventures_, you'll know Yasmin Paige who played Maria Jackson had to leave the job to do her GCSEs. Now I can see why. Moan over. Thank you to my reviewers who patiently wait for my updates. Even if it takes me another six months, this story will be finished! I have a plan! Ramble over. **

**Disclaimer: In the two or three weeks since I last updated, I have not yet come to own Doctor Who. Shame, that. **

Computer's scream died down, but the pulsing red on the screen faded into mauve. Rose remembered the Doctor saying that mauve stood for danger in most of the universe.

"ACCESS DENIED!" Computer told them in her mechanical monotone.

"But you can help! You can help me, Computer! He said so! Please, I beggito you!" Mr. Splenderifous was getting agitated. The anticipation of finding out his true identity was making him twitchy. And frustration was surging up inside him.

"ACCESS DENIED!"

"O.K. So we'll have to...I dunno, hack in?" Rose suggested.

"Typical. The one time we need Mickey the idiot, he's not here," the Doctor sighed.

"You're still calling him an idiot?" Rose asked.

"It's a term of endearment," the Doctor grinned. "Endearment. Do you like that one, Mr No-Name?"

He wasn't listening. He was staring intently at Computer, his orange eyes unblinking. He had an unnerving stare. In fact, he would be quite frightening if he one didn't know his true nature.

"You will give me access," he told Computer slowly. "I am your master and you will give me access."

The machine didn't respond.

The Doctor's face stayed blank for a moment and then lit up.

"Oh! I'm so thick! Thick, thick, thicketty thick!"

Mr. Splenderifous stared.

"You look rather thin to me," he said, confusion crossing his face.

Rose smiled but the Doctor didn't appear to hear him. He was still rambling away in his Doctor like fashion.

"Cos...let me see...computer equipment from this time was beginning to develop its own thoughts and personalities. In twenty, thirty years time in certain parts of the galaxy certain computers will gain independence from their masters. It'd be like...like if your iPod suddenly said it got sick of all the Oasis you were listening to and went to live on the internet."

Rose considered carefully.

"So Computer's got her own personality and her own agenda...which means...she has the information about this guy...but she doesn't want to share it!"

"Yes, exactly!"

"I get it!" she yelped.

"I don't," said Mr. Splenderifous. "Eye pod? Oasis? Internet?" he muttered, shaking his head.

Rose bit her lip.

"So, why's Computer not sharing?"

"Let's find out. I'll just put her to sleep with my sonic screwdriver and we'll have a little dig through her data banks!" the Doctor waved the metallic tube cheerfully.

"She's a computer! How does one put a computer to sleep?" wondered Mr. Splenderifous.

"You're wrong. She's not _just a computer_. Of course, your part of the galaxy will have the Mechanical War of Independence soon and you'll find out. "

"You talk like you know the future. Such a thing is impossiblo."

"Me and the Doctor kind of laugh in the face of impossible," Rose grinned.

"YOU WILL PUT DOWN THE WEAPON! PUT IT DOWN!" Computer suddenly barked, making them all leap back in surprise.

"PUT IT DOWN! Put it d-o-w-n..."

Computer's voice slowly died down and her screen faded to white.

"It's not a weapon, it's a screwdriver. Right. Here we go. We need...name and purpose of this ship and its owner?"

"My origin? Events of the past week? I've been here two days," Mr. Splenderifous added excitedly.

"Yeah, and then we can use her medical functionality to restore your memories. Everything back to normal."

"That's brilliant!" beamed Rose.

"I know!" the Doctor beamed back.

A small stream of light lit up Computer's screen. And the metallic grate of her voice was weak, as though she were using her last breath.

"DOC...doc...TOR...if you use my power to restore his memories...I will die..."

**A/N I'll just explain where I'm going with this. All the machines in the show have their emotions "removed". So, I thought what if machines actually had emotions? What if my laptop came to life and yelled at me for whacking the keys too hard or slamming the lid down? And it kind of went from there. Btw, my laptop hasn't actually screamed at me. Yet. **


	9. True Identities

**A/N I sat down at 6:30 and vowed I would not get up until this story finally reached its end. And it has. These are the final chapters. I would like to thank all my reviewers, I would not have continued writing this without your enourangement. I hope the ending doesn't seem rushed and rounds it off nicely. I have actually had it planned for ages, so hopefully it's fine. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own. But am making a T-shirt with "The Angels have the Phonebox" on it. **

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

Rose felt her heart turn over. Computer may sound like a machine, but her words were so very _human_. All the machines Rose had encountered had dismissed humanity as useless. The Cybermen, the Daleks, they were all emotionless. And something about that lack of humanity was frightening. But Computer was different. She had become something different.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." the Doctor began "...but we can't have Mr No-Name over there wandering round this planet with no home to go to. We need his memories. There must be something..."

"MY POWER SUPPLY IS RESTORATION WILL BURN UP MY CIRCUITS. LINK WITH TARDIS GIVES ME LIMITED POWER DUE TO COMPATABILITY ISSUES...THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION. AND YOU KNOW THIS."

"Can't you...can't you..." Rose desperately tried to think.

"INCOMING DATA...THE MIST MONSTERS ATTACK FROM OUTSIDE...CANNOT SUSTAIN SHIELDS...EVEN IF I DID NOT HAVE TO PERFROM MEDICAL RESTORATION I WOULD DIE ANYWAY."

"You give up your life to me?" Mr. Splenderifous suddenly chipped in. "No, no, no, it seems all wrong. Wrong, wrongton, wrongity."

"I LOOKED INTO THE TARDIS DATA BANKS. SO MANY WONDERFUL PLACES. SO MANY DREAMS. I CAN DIE WITH THE WONDERS OF THE UNIVERSE RUNNING THROUGH MY HEAD."

There was a flash of light and Rose automatically covered her eyes. She couldn't see anything, she could only think. She'd come to the beach for a holiday, got sucked into an illusion and then a spaceship with a memory-less alien and an emotional computer. It had all happened so damn _fast_, she couldn't think, she barely had time to_ breathe_. Luckily the Doctor was always there in the end, but what if one day he wasn't? What would she do in situations like this?

The light began to fade from the gaps in her hands until it was almost dark. Computer was smoking, Mr. S was lying on the floor. The thumping of the mist monsters had resumed from outside. The Doctor was standing there, a resigned expression on his face.

"I couldn't do anything. Her mind was already made up. But now the Vanishing can get in. We need to get out. And find a way to stop them."

"I may be able to help you with that..." Mr. Splenderifous was scrambling to his feet.

"Sergeant Capizu Hituri of the Deron Fleet at your service. Defending my planet from the Mist Age," he announced proudly.

Rose stared at him, looking for the loveable buffoon that had stood there before. All she saw was the ramrod straight posture and salute of a military man. His orange eyes were now staring and threatening instead of merely unusual. She took a step backwards.

The Doctor put a hand on her shoulder. A protective hand, she noticed.

"The Deron fleet...but you provoked them. It was your fault! And don't salute!"

"What? What was their fault?" Rose asked.

"The Vanishing lived on a planet and the Derons invaded with the intention of making the planet their own, to lighten the load of their overcrowded home world. They didn't consider the life there intelligent, but that was a big mistake. The Vanishing began to spread from their ships and attack other planets."

"It wasn't our fault. How were we supposed to know?" the sergeant blustered.

"Did your ship crash here? Did it? Or were you hiding? Had Computer delete all your memories to hide from the Vanishing?"

"But the Vanishing are here anyway," Rose pointed out. "Wait a sec, did they follow? Did you lead them here? To Earth?"

"So what if I did? This planet is dispensable. If they were distracted by feasting here, they wouldn't follow me home," he sneered.

"Who are you to decide if this planet is dispensable?" Rose demanded. Sometimes she was disgusted by the aliens they ran into.

"They don't register you as _intelligent life_, Rose," the Doctor said with sadness and disgust.

They were interrupted by an almighty explosion from outside. Water began to pour rapidly into the already flooded room.

Sergeant Hituri began twiddling the controls on the dead Computer. The Doctor gently pushed Rose in the direction of the TARDIS, but she wasn't leaving. She didn't want him sending her away from him again. It was her biggest fear.

"That won't work," the Doctor said slowly to the sergeant.

"What!?" he barked.

"I know what you're trying to do and it won't work. "

"I think I know more about fighting these things than you," he said irritably.

"You need to..."

Rose tuned out as the Doctor launched into a long list of techno babble. She looked around the flooded ship. The water was almost up to her knees, ruining her jeans and making it hard to move. It was cold too. The TARDIS stood forlornly in the corner, forgotten for the moment. Rose spotted a small box of controls with "EMERGENCY" printed on them. She trudged over to them, the water making her jeans stick to her. A lever, a couple of buttons were in the box.

She would have to chance it, because as much as she loved the Doctor he really wasn't helping at the moment. And she wasn't being eaten by mist.

She jammed the lever down and pressed every button, then screamed "TARDIS!" at the top of her voice, much to the surprise of the two men.


	10. Virus

**Disclaimer: No.**

The structure of the ship began to crack. The walls caved and the water gushed in. The leftovers seemed to dissolve into nothing as the invisible creatures feasted and devoured. But they began to feel confused. Where was their prey? And why did everything begin to look so strange?

After a couple more seconds, they felt no more. They were gone, as dissolved as the things they ate.

* * *

Rose was wet. Rose was cold. Rose was not amused.

The Doctor shared these sentiments. His suit would never be the same again after being drenched with sea water.

Sergeant Capizu Hituri was too busy admiring the inside of the TARDIS to notice.

"Is it magic?" he asked wonderingly.

"No," Rose snapped. "So, what just happened?" she asked the Doctor.

"Depends on what the emergency protocols were," he answered.

"Seriously, where did you get this ship? I have to get one for my wife. She'd love it." Hituri stroked the dazzling walls of the TARDIS.

"Sergeant?" Rose interrupted. "What were the emergency protocols?"

"What emergency protocols?"

"The ones in your ship, which do you think?" the Doctor asked impatiently.

"I don't know," he said. "But they were splenderifous!"

Rose tried not to smile and failed.

"I expect a virus was released into the remains of Computer and they ate it. And died," he added.

"I suppose we should take you back to Deron then," the Doctor sighed. "But you have to promise me something."

"What's that then?"

"If you do anything like this again, you'll be facing a deep, dark heart of rage you really don't want to see. And no more invading planets. Because, no offence, but your race is rubbish at it."

**A/N I was going to carry on, but anything else I wrote seemed like rambling drivel. So I left it there. If I've missed anything tell me, and I'll go back and add it in if it's a really big thing.**


End file.
